Land of Dread
by Acid Fish
Summary: An old being awakened whether his intention are good or not, he causes trouble for all those who oppose him, the heroes and villains suffer from his destruction, how will they defeat him, rated T for blood and language
1. Chapter 1: The Mushroom Kingdom

Chapter 1: The Mushroom Kingdom

The plump red plumber rubbed his nose, the frequent battles with his enemy had begun to take their toll, a taller green plumber walks in from the door, he calls," Mario, there is a letter for us, it is from the Princess, yah." Mario ran over to his brother, they opened the letter carefully and Mario read it aloud," "Dear Mario and Luigi, I request your attendance at the palace tonight, we are throwing a party in honor of your achievements the past year, please hurry and meet up as soon as possible" signed Princess Peach" Mario cheered slightly, Luigi followed with a little dance from left to right.

The two brothers headed towards the castle that was east of their house, they passed by the houses and villager, a group of robed beings turned their heads to them, Mario continued but Luigi however was angered by this, he walked over to them and shouted," What is wrong, you have a problem with us?"

One of the beings walked up to him and said," Uh, No we have no problem, where just waiting for someone to arrive, we have waited a long time for his arrival, we often turn our heads from those who lack our great ones knowledge." Luigi scratched his head and puzzled by this asks," Who is the great one?"

The man in front of him looked down at him and studied him, he said after thinking," You don't know who the great one is, how is this possible, surely the heroes of our time would know of him?" Luigi shakes his head and asks," Who is this being?" The head approached and said," You cannot ask us, you must learn for yourself," he searches a bag and pulls out an old book," Here take this and learn, when you have the time read of him, he who can answer the great riddle, is allowed to awaken him, if you wish to try the challenge simply come back to us, we are here all hours of the day, we will take you to the statue to try the test any time, you may try as many times as you like but none have ever answered correctly."

Luigi grabs the book and puts it in his bag, he thanks them for the book and runs to catch up with his brother who was already at the palace, the men wave and go back to preaching of the great one.

Mario knocks on the front door and waits patiently for someone to answer, after a minute or two, Toadworth opens the door, he says ecstatically," Master Mario, you have arrived, great the Princess will be over joyed! But where is your brother?" Mario looks to his left then right, he begins to answer, suddenly the door is rammed into, Luigi slides down and hits the ground, he grabs hold of the door and helps himself up, Toadworth and Mario look at each other but laugh slightly.

Luigi glares at them but gets caught up in the moment and laughs as well, Toadworth invites them in and walks them to the garden, lush green trees grow all around the garden, flowers of red, yellow, and all sorts of color scattered the grove, a pink figure sat near the pond feeding some baby birds, Toadworth walks up and says," Princess, Mario and Luigi are hear."

Peach stands up and walks over, smiling she hugs them and says," Thank you both for coming. The party wouldn't be as fun without the two heroes who save us from Bowser." Mario bows and Luigi follows, she bows as well, she invites them to sit down and enjoy some tea while they sit, Mario accepts right away but Luigi decides to begin reading the book the group handed him.

Mario sat with the princess enjoying some tea, he put some sugar in it and began drinking, Peach sipped her tea and patted her face, she said," So, Mario how have your days been so far?" Mario put his cup down and said," It is a all good, but all the fighting with Bowser has kept me from having fun, but that's what heroes are for." He sips some more tea as the enjoy the nice weather.

Luigi lays back against a tree and settles himself down, he reaches into his bag and pulls out the old stitched covered book, the cover faded from years and Luigi could tell the book was old, the being on the front was hard to identify, Luigi ignored it and continued into the book, he opened up the cover and flipped through the pages to the first page, he read," The great one lived years before the first kingdoms of the world, his power spanned across all others he faced, he who challenged him would meet a gruesome end to his blade, he reigned for two hundred and fifty years, those who served him fell to the enemy around the end of his era of rule, he was not defeated in battle but sealed away for he who could figure out the ultimate riddle could unlock him and be his ultimate follower in his time of need. This passage was from the Lord's personal journal that he kept in his time," The day has grown old, my men have all fallen to the darkness I shall soon follow, but first I check the last remainder of the town we have laid siege to. All I see when I look around is money, Jewels, and foolish things, this is one town I have saved from this tyrannical rule called upon by the kings of these lands. I go to darkness now, and wait till the net day arises to my men." This is the last of the great ones writings from his journal, this was the only page recovered, the journal has never been found. Those of you, who wish to awaken him, answer at the statue," I live in day just as night, those who despise me, have never felt me; those who call to me, have need of me; what am I?"

Luigi scratches his head, the answer was in his head, he just couldn't remember it, suddenly a large explosion caught his attention, he darted off for where it came from, Mario was holding Peach he put her down and looked up, Bowser jumped down from his vehicle and cracked the earth beneath him, he smiled wickedly and roared into the air, he shouts," Give me the Princess Mario, or I will take her from you!"

Mario points and says," No way a Bowser, you're not getting the Princess, right Luigi….. Luigi?" Luigi runs through the gate screaming," Wahhhhh!" Mario shakes his head but turns towards, Bowser, Bowser stomps down on Mario, Mario rolls away and jumps up hopping on his head, Mario grunts and backs up, Mario runs forward and kicks him in the jaw, Bowser crashes his fist down on Mario, Mario slams into the ground, he jumps back up and dodges Bowsers spin attack. He runs forward and kicks up at Bowser again, Bowser flings up and crashes down, he breathes fire and Mario runs trying to avoid it, Bowser hits a block and a Fire Flower appears, Mario jumps and snatches it, a white flash covers him and he turns white and red, he rushes forward, he spins rapidly and upper cuts Bowser, Bowser flies forward and slams into his machine, smoke bellows through the engine and a fire bursts, the ship takes off away and crashes into the water far off.

Mario straightened himself out and walked back to the Princess, he asks," Are you alright Princess?" Peach nods her head, she smiles and says," Thank you Mario for your assistance, now do me another favor. Please go retrieve your brother, we still need him for the party." Mario nods his head and runs off looking for Luigi.

Luigi ran down the streets, he thought to himself," How could I be such a coward, there must be a way to be stronger, if only Mario could stop fighting Bowser, I know he dreads his life for how he is but that's no reason to attack the king…" Luigi shouts," Hooray, that's it, that is the word I was looking for in the book, I have to try it out at least!"

Luigi took off towards the square, in a matter of moments he reached the square, he turned the corner and began looking for them, He found one of them standing near a building, he ran over and noticed it was one of the two men he spoke to earlier, he ran up to him, the man smiled and said," Oh hello it's you again, have you come back to talk to the elder?"

Luigi shook his head and said," actually I came to try out the riddle, I think I know the answer." The robed man looked at him astonished," What, you're going to try the challenge, but you just got the book?" Luigi nods his head again, the man smiled and escorted him through the building, leading him down dark corridors then down a stairwell leading to a locked room.

The elder appeared before them, he asked," What are you doing down here?" He notices Luigi behind him and continues," Ah, I see, he has come to try the riddle hasn't he, well then follow me through the door." Luigi followed the elder into the room, a large statue stood in front of them, columns rose to the top of the room, strange material was covering the wall on the right side, Luigi approached the statue, it's eyes suddenly lit up in a brilliant blue, it's voice was cracked and old, it said," If you wish to follow the great one and wake him, answer the riddle," I live in day just as night, those who despise me, have never felt me; those who call to me, have need of me; what am I?"

Luigi calmed down, from his frightened state, he spoke clearly and said," The answer is DREAD!" The monster just stood there, Luigi stepped back, the elder said," Well you tried, I thought you almost had it my friend better luck nex…." The dragon interrupted him and said," Your answer Is correct green one, approach now and meet with the great one, may he show you the truth and may you follow him proudly."

The elder and the Robed man both looked at him astonished, the elder rushed him forward eager to meet the great one, Luigi shook a little, the wall behind the statue scratched the ground as it moved, a loud screeching noise echoed through the room, the walls stopped and the noise halted, Luigi looked forward, a cave was behind it a strange wave of energy escaped from it.

Luigi moved forward and eased his way through the hole, he shook as he passed through it, a spider landed on his shoulder, it moved around the sudden touch made Luigi jump, the spider flew off and landed on the rock nearby, Luigi took off down the hall screaming as he ran, suddenly a flash stopped him, a being appeared in front of him, it reached out and touched him, he said," You my dear follower, have awakened me from my long slumber, let me give you the power your heart seeks, I shall call upon you when I need you, now return to your home and await my call, you shall not be changed, now go!" Luigi is hit with a blue wave of energy, he suddenly loses sight and falls over unconscious.

Mario shakes his brother, Luigi slowly opens his eyes and gazed up, He smiled when he saw his brother he asked," What happened brother?" Mario shakes his head and says," I don't know, a villager found you passed out and brang you back here, how are you a feeling?" Luigi shakes his head a little, he says," I'm a fine, lets head to the castle I'm sure the Princess will start the party soon."

Mario nodded his head and the two made their way to the castle to enjoy the night ahead, while other matter took place far away, Mario approached the gate and entered the party had begun recently so there was time to still enjoy the whole thing, Princess Peach smiles and walks over to them," Mario, Luigi, this party is for you go enjoy yourself!"

Luigi took off into the crowd and was gone, Mario scratched his head but followed after, Peach smiled and waved goodbye, but a strange feeling overpowered her feeling of safeness, she shook off the feeling and followed after them. Luigi was eating at the table, there was food of all sorts, Luigi made his plate in the orderly way he could, his brother however was snatching all kinds of food, By the time Mario had his plate ready half of the buffet table was missing, Luigi stared at him disbelieving his brother was going to try to eat all that.

Mario acknowledged that he was indeed attempting to eat all of the food, the room was quiet and the people where all concerned as they watched the hero scarf down food as he ate, Luigi pushed his plate aside losing his appetite, he moved from the table and walked away, Mario shrugged his shoulder and snatched Luigi's food as well.

Luigi looked out over the palace in the far distance was the kingdom that Bowser ruled, Luigi squints his eyes to watch, a small flash catches his attention from the castle, he shakes his head and walks away as well, tired of the night and heading home to sleep, seeing as how the party was not as fun as he thought it would be.

What has Luigi so down, is Mario going to be able to finish all of that food he consumed, what is going on in Bowser's castle, find out in the next chapters.


	2. Chapter 2: Bowser's Castle

Chapter 2: Bowser's Castle

The large turtle shelled beast stormed around his throne, his last attempt to steal the princess ended badly for him, his son was injured in the battle, a large scar reached up from his arm to his face, blood dripped down from the slash, Bowser walked up to the room his son was in, a loud scream of pain echoed around in his head, the doctor's where trying to make the pain cease, but all of the medicine they had was limited.

Bowser walks to his throne and sits down upon it, a large cut out window was in front of him across the room, he gazed out of it, far off was the Mushroom Kingdom, without the Princess's aid his kingdom would keep dying and his people becoming sicker, Bowser was one of the healthiest people in his kingdom due to his high tolerance to the poisons that kept his people dying.

Bowser slammed his hand down on the arm of his throne he shouted," Why must my kingdom suffer while, hers stays perfect and healthy, my son is dying from the poison, without the medicine needed he won't be able to survive much longer, I need to get him some help, but I can't ask for it, that isn't who I am, what am I going to do?"

A spiked koopa entered the room and approached, he said," My lord, more of our people have fallen to the poison, I believe that the food that was distributed between them had been tainted, my lord why haven't you attacked the Princess's castle?" Bowser slams his fist down, he shouts," I know! We have to move out; I will get the medicine make sure that the palace is under surveillance, understood!"

The spiked shell Koopa bows to him and walks away, Bowser enters his TetraVolt, his newest mode of transportation; he starts up the main engine and takes off towards his target, the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser soared fast and quickly to the castle, he knew that if he didn't get the Princess he couldn't save his people.

Bowser floats over the top of the castle, he spots Mario and Luigi walking up to it, he curses to himself and says," dang it, I am going to have to wait until there gone!" After fifteen minutes, Bowser growls to himself, he throws the engine into full throttle, he fires the main weapon down and blows up the table Mario and Princess Peach are sitting by, they're sent tumbling back as he lands.

Bowser hops out of his chair and slams into the ground, he smiled wickedly and roared into the air, he shouts," Give me the Princess Mario, or I will take her from you!" Mario points and says," No way a Bowser, you're not getting the Princess, right Luigi….. Luigi?" Luigi runs through the gate screaming," Wahhhhh!"

Mario shakes his head but turns towards Bowser, Bowser stomps down on Mario, Mario rolls away and jumps up hopping on his head, Mario grunts and backs up, Mario runs forward and kicks him in the jaw, Bowser crashes his fist down on Mario, Mario slams into the ground, he jumps back up and dodges Bowsers spin attack. He runs forward and kicks up at Bowser again, Bowser flings up and crashes down, he breathes fire and Mario runs trying to avoid it, Bowser hits a block and a Fire Flower appears, Mario jumps and snatches it, a white flash covers him and he turns white and red, he rushes forward, he spins rapidly and upper cuts Bowser, Bowser flies forward and slams into his machine, smoke bellows through the engine and a fire bursts, the ship takes off away and crashes into the water far off.

Bowser, Tugs himself along, his ship was heavy and it took all of his strength to tug it to the shore, he left it by the bank and headed back to his kingdom, as he entered the forests he noticed many strange creatures he had never seen before, or never thought were there, he continued forward, a large beetle burst from the ground, a long scratch on its back looked as if it had been in a fight.

Bowser continued his walk through the forest, the land was scorched around here and the area beginning to look a lot more dead, Bowser shook his head as he entered the area around his kingdom, the land was mainly dead the water dried up so many years ago, even when he was a kid it was gone, he didn't even know how long before his father it was gone.

As he approached the castle he noticed strange clouds appearing above it, he charged faster into his kingdom, as he entered the area seemed even worse than when he left, there was no life in the streets, even his kingdom had life roaming past and in it, he moved forward to the castle, as he approached he noticed the door was split into and was broken.

He pushed open the door, a loud screeching noise echoed, he entered and the first thing he noticed was a strange being standing perfectly still in the middle of the room, Bowser shouts," Hey you punk, you think you can barge in here like it's your own personal club house, you got another thing coming!" The being simply turns around and looks at him, he was covered from head to toe in armor, seven long spikes rose from his helmet.

The being approached Bowser, the ground cracked where he stepped, he stared right into Bowser' eyes, Bowser glared at him as he was doing this, the being said," You are very sad aren't you? I can see into your being, you wish for your kingdom to be restored, but really you know that there is nothing you can do for these people, the Princess across the land has not seen what you have."

Bowser shook his head and shouted angrily," what are you talking about! How did you even get in, my guards would have pummeled you before you reached the gate!" The being simply tilted his head to the right, Bowser turned his head slightly, a slight tremble shook through him, the guards lay dead in a pool of blood, a large hole stabbed through them.

Bowser growls angrily and throws his fist at the being, The being is pushed back a little, Bowser pulls his hand back, he felt his hand throbbing immensely, the being turns his head towards him again, he reaches hand quickly towards his back, he pulls out a great sword off of his back, jagged edges stick out from struts on the sword, he swings it supremely fast and hard at Bowser, Bowser turns to block with his shell, a large crack splits through his shell, Bowser hurdles into the wall.

The being puts his blade back and looks to his right, Bowser asks while pushing himself up," what do you want!" The being smashed into Bowser's throne, the arm breaks apart revealing Bowser's family Crest, Bowser shouts," Drop that, it belongs to my family!"

The being holds it up in the air, he turns around and says," Really, It doesn't look like it's yours!" He crushes the metal around the strange gem in the middle, he places it in the slot in his middle spike on his head, Bowser shakes and anger fills his body, without thinking he charge full throttle towards him, the being hold out his hand, energy forms and lighting sparks around him, he releases the energy and sends it into Bowser, Bowser is hurdled out of the kingdom by a large explosion, he crashes down into the bay.

Two figures appear in front of him, one very tall while the other quite large, he finds himself on the shore line, Wario looks down at him and says," You alright Bowser, you look banged up, what happened?" Waluigi nods his head eagerly awaiting his response, Bowser rubbed his head, he looks up towards the volcano, his castle was cracked and part of it was gone.

Bowser growls angrily, he says," You two, follow me, where going to teach a certain being a lesson about respect!" Wario and Waluigi crawled up the jagged rocks heading up to the castle, Bowser looked down from his high perch, he shook his head and shouted," You two no-brains get up here, I don't have all day to wait for you!"

Wario and Waluigi rushed up the cliff side and climbed the ledge Bowser was standing on, Waluigi noticed a flower, it had a grey look and was very depressing to look at, as they made their way up, more flowers appeared, each the same as the grey one, Bowser stomped through them, Wario quickly followed, Waluigi stopped and scooped up one of the flowers, he pulls out a jar and stores it for later.

Bowser crept up to the side of the door and peered in, Wario jumped out in front but Bowser pulled him to the side, Wario noticed the being and realized why Bowser was telling him to wait, Waluigi jumped up and shouted," I got the flower!" His voice echoed through the castle as Wario tackles him down and hits him on the head.

The being inside turns towards them, he walks slowly over, the ground trembles slightly as he approaches, Wario turns his head slightly, now that the being was heading for them, Bowser shook his head from the side but took the set up as a way to plan. The being stopped in front of the door he raised his hand and placed it on Wario, blue lightning surged through his body, he hollers as pain shoots through his entire being.

Waluigi shakes as he watches from the ground, Wario falls over as the lightning dies down, he slowly rolls away down the small hill area, the being turns towards Waluigi, he backs up shaking his hands trying to make him go away. The being approaches once more and steps outside of the castle, Bowser hurdles his fist from his right and smashes him in the face, the being flies back and slams into the ground, a large crack follows.

Waluigi jumps up and shouts," Hooray!" Wario rolls over, his eyes still spinning as he crawls back up, he stands on his feet and says," Wario number one!" Bowser walks into the kingdom and looks down at the being he hit, his hole arm was throbbing from the impact, he smiles and shouts," Not so tough now huh! Next time don't underestimate me!" Bowser turns towards Wario and heads towards them.

Lighting courses around the being, Bowser turns around slowly as the lighting strikes around the kingdom, the being rises from the ground, his head drops down then slowly rises, he turns towards Bowser as he speaks," The fat one was not a necessary trap to lure me outside, I knew you were outside, don't think for a moment your cheap trick dealt any damage to me, I know for a fact that you are in pain not me!"

Wario and Waluigi shake as they begin sneaking away, Bowser says," What do you want? Why have you taken all that I care for?" The being turns again, he shakes his head and chuckles, his voice echoes through the room, his laugh creeped around Bowser and even he couldn't stand it, the laughter suddenly halt as he responds," You have lost nothing you fool, all of the people you fight for are as good as dead, you think you know pain, you wouldn't know the first thing!" lighting courses through the blade that was once again in his hand, Bowser backs away slowly, the being lashes out and strikes Bowser, Bowser spins rapidly in his shell, the sword crashes into his shell and pieces shatter off his shell, lighting travels through all of Bowsers body, he slams into the ground and slides off towards the hole in his kingdom.

The being approaches him as he hangs from the ledge, Bowser claws at the ground trying to climb, the being slams his foot down on his hand, A sickening crack splits through his bone and shatters, his hand releases it's grip as tears roll down Bowser's face, his last hand trembles as it holds his entire body, the being steps over Bowser, the last thing he heard was," You see, your incompetence has led you to this fate, your just like your grandfather, a betrayer of trust and a lousy king!" He kicks Bowser last hand and Bowser falls onto the steep cliff, crashing into rocks and plants as he tumbles into the river. Bowser struggles to stay conscious but finally slips into nothingness.

What has happened to Bowser, who attacked him, what will happen to Wario and Waluigi find out next chapters.


	3. Chapter 3: The Dread King

Chapter 3: The Dread King

Mario stretched and turned as he stood from the blanket he was under, he looks around and notices that Luigi was gone, he had not seen him since the party, Mario ran down the street, he turned sharply and headed down the street towards there home, he ran up to the door and pushed to open, the door was locked and he couldn't open it, he knocked several times.

Mario could hear walking on the other side, the door opened and Luigi popped his head out of the door, he smiles towards his brother and lets him in, Mario smiles back but asks," is everything alright, some people say they saw you last night, but you seemed really down?" Luigi shrugged his shoulders and answered," Well I am feeling better now, so don't worry about last night, how about we head to the castle and talk to the princess?"

Mario nodded his head, even though he just left he hadn't actually visited her or said good morning, they made there way back up to the castle, stopping for something to eat on the way, Mario couldn't stop admiring all of the food on the list, Luigi began tapping his finger against the glass, because Mario was taking up there time, Mario ordered some breakfast while Luigi simply ordered water.

Mario turned towards him as he began eating his pancakes," Are you sure your alright, you always order the lettuce bowl when we come, here since when did you just drink water?" Luigi looked down at the water confused and said," Yah, why didn't I order the usual?" Mario ate the rest of his breakfast, Luigi waited patiently for him to finish.

Mario and Luigi continued up to the castle and entered the main gate once again, Peach was working on one of her dresses at the time in the main hall, Mario waved to her and said," Hello princess, good morning how have you a been?" Peach smiled and said," I'm fine Mario, how have you two been today?" Mario smiled along with Luigi and said," We are fine Princess, we wanted to know if we could hang around and talk?"

Peach smiled and responded," well, I'm glad your alright and I would love to talk, let's go to the garden, It is very quiet and peaceful there, shall we?" Mario nodded and they headed towards the back, suddenly Toadworth busted through the gate, he shouts," Mario, Luigi, Princes you must come quickly, it's Bowser!"

Mario tensed up and anger flowed through him, Luigi glared at the mention of his name, Mario asks," What happened Toadworth what has he done this time!" Toadworth shook his head," No, no not that there is something terribly wrong on the planet, you must see to believe follow me quickly!" Mario, Peach, and Luigi instantly took off outside, following their fleeing companion.

They approached a medical tent close to the beach, it was connected to the ocean, river, and small ponds. Toadworth enters the tent and the others quickly appear inside after him, Peach gasps as Mario and Luigi are startled, Bowser was lying on a bed connected to wires, his shell had pieces missing from the corners, blood ran from the wounds around his body, and a large slash across the entire back part of his shell.

Peach asks," What happened?" Bowser's eye opened suddenly, Toadworth flinches back and jumps behind the princess. He turns his head slightly, pain shoots through his skull and his busted wrist, Peach asks again," Bowser, what happened?" Bowser says weakly," I was attacked…. In my own kingdom!" Mario puzzled asked," Who could have done this to you?" Bowser struggled to shake his head," I don't know who he was, he was already in my kingdom when I returned, he killed the guards that were on watch, after that he smashed my family crest and placed the gem that was in it, inside of his helmet, he casted me out, twice might I add, I woke up here and now."

Peach intrigued asked," why would you fight him on your own, why didn't you get help?" Bowser shook a little, he responded," I forgot, Wario and Waluigi were with me, they helped me out of the water, we went back up to sneak attack him, he dusted it off like it was nothing! I don't know what happened to them."

Mario shook his head as he asked," So, this guy just a beat you down and took your palace? Why would he do that?" Bowser shook his head again," I don't know, it may have something to do with my grandfather, he mentioned him before he kicked me off of a ledge." Luigi suddenly slams into the ground and wiggles on the ground, Mario and Peach turn to him trying to get him, suddenly blue light forms around him and his body disappears.

Luigi looks up from the cold stone ground he was lying on, a tall being stood infront of him, it was the being he had awakened from underneath the cult's building, the being reached his hand down for him, Luigi reached out and was pulled off of the ground, the being said," Welcome my follower, I have called you here to help me, I have seen your friends, some of which I least like, but I need you to bring me the princess, this Peach I believe you call her?"

Luigi's green began to morph into a shiny metal like material, the color was the same green, armor appeared around him and took the colors of his normal outfit, Luigi stood up and looked over to his leader, the being said," let us go now, we shall go to the princess, she has something that belongs to me!" Light swirled around them and they warped off.

Luigi looked around, they were near the lake north of the kingdom, Luigi and the being made there way past the guards of the castle, Luigi snuck around into the back of the castle, his leader following close behind trying not to alert them, Luigi closed the doors and sealed the main entrences to the other rooms.

The leader nodded his head and said," Good, very good follower, what is your name?" Luigi looked up and said," I am Luigi, sir." The being chuckled slightly," Now Luigi, we are going to have to draw the princess here, so cause an attack and bring them here." Luigi nodded his head, the being floated up, energy shifted around him and he was no longer visible to anyone.

Luigi, opened one of the door slightly, lighting spun in his hand, fire grew in the middle, he cast it at the top of the tower, a large explosion shattered the top of the tower, cracking down to the base, three guards crash into the ground, blood dripping from there mouth. Tons of toads run to the door which are now bard.

They place bob-bombs around the entrances, flash's come from them as they begin ticking down, a simataneuos explosion echoes through the the kingdom as smoke raises from the kingdom. Peach and Mario rush outside of the tent, smoke rises from the destroyed tower and the front entrance, Peach shouts," Oh no!" Mario races off towards it, Peach sprints off following him, trying to catch up.

Guards are sent flying from the inside, some moving and groaning with pain, others lying lifeless. Mario walks past the destruction and death, Toadworth stumbles from outside the castle, blood dripping from the hole through in his chest, he trips and lands on the ground, Mario runs over, Peach covers her face to wipe away tears.

Mario shakes him and asks," What happened, Toadworth, who did this to you?" Toadworth coughs and points inside, he says," It was from what I could tell, Luigi…." Toadworth coughs out blood, Mario shakes him some more and says," come on, you… you'll be fine… buddy come on… lets get… get you better." Toadworth smiles up at Mario, his eyes turn grey and colorless as is life fades.

Tears drip down from Mario's nose, he wipes his face and glares forward, he rushes in, Peach follows quickly, making sure Toadworth is out of the way, Peach enters behind him, Luigi turns towards them, his armor blocking all attacks the toads throw at him, one of the guards runs forward with his spear, it shatters against the armor, Luigi grabs his head, lighting shock around him, as he burns from within, he falls over scorched to death.

Mario glares at his brother, fire grows in his hand a spiraling vortex forms, he lashes out flinging towards Luigi, a large object crashes down infront of him, Mario stops and slides out of the way, a strange being appears before them, Mario moves towards Peach, the beings says," nice work follower Luigi, you have made me very proud!"

Mario glares at the new being, he shouts," You're a responsible for this, you killed Toadworth!" Princess Peach asks as she shakes," Who are you?" The being looks over to her, he answers," I, dear princess am, Dread King!" Peach stares at him terrified he says to her," Such sadness in your eyes as well, just like the big turtle, you seek better for your kingdom, you wish your people didn't have to suffer Bowser's attacks… You sicken me!" he slams his sword down into the ground, large cracks split through the large picture on the ground.

Peach and Mario notice the anger flowing through him, even though they had done nothing wrong, Mario shouts," how can you be mad at us, you are a the one who killed out friends!" He charges his energy into his hand and send an electric current into Mario, he instantly yells out in pain as he drops to his knees.

The Dread King shouts," Let me explain myself, I have a unique gift, I can sence how my opponent feels and what makes them feel that way, as of right now, all most all in this kingdom wish the same thing, for Bowser to finally be vanquished, Luigi here is an exception, as I read him, he didn't wish for Bowser's demise he wished for the power to rise against his enemies. Now let me tell you another beings mind I looked into, what he was seeking was the ability to restore his kingdom to it's prosperous state, his people die as he continues the path he chooses to get the resources he needs, and his son will be the next to die, do you know who that being was?"

Mario shook his head, as did Peach, he continued," The being… was Bowser." Mario and Peach both stunned by this didn't know how to react, the Dread King continued," You see, Bowser did not come here this last time for the princess, he came for resources, the only way he can ask is if he has something to trade it for, since he has nothing of value, he must steal the most valuable thing to this kingdom, it's princess, and he does all of this, just to provide the medicine and food needed for his people. How does this make you feel, pretty bad doesn't it!" Peach shook her head, she stammered," But… but… I never knew…."

The Dread Kiing shook his head," on the contrary you did know, you have known your entire life without thinking about it, you see I come from a time hundreds of years in the past, the three kingdoms were, The Mushroom Koop, The Vantaline kingdom, and the Beast Kingdom. I was not always The Dread King, I used to be a being called General Rigas, I worked for the Kingdom that became the Mushroom Kingdom, the Mushroom Koop, there were two rulers for that kingdom, Lawrence Toadstool, and Dracus Koopa, Your great, great, great grandfather and Bowsers grandfather, your relative cheated the Koopa King after the war, by giving him a kingdom of his own to rule, only the kingdom was located in the battle zone, he told the king that one day it would prosper richer then his land, I was sealed after this so I don't kno what happened but it didn't go well I'm sure. But that is enough of a history lesson, now is the time to gain what belongs to me!"

In an instant he charged at the princess, a he reaches out and snatches the necklace from her neck, she shouts," Give that back you thief!" He holds it up and shatters the amulet, the jewel falls down and he picks it up, he places it in his helmet, Mario runs and punches him, Mario shouts," ow ow ow ow!" Peach was startled that Mario hadn't even hurt him, this guy was clearly tougher then Bowser or any foe Mario had faced.

The Dread King turned around and walked away a light swirled around him and Luigi, and they vanished from the room, leaving the princess and Mario confused and hurt deeply. Peach sulked as she thought about what he said, was it true that she was a releative of a cheat who took advantage of his power. Mario noticed she was upset and sat next to her to cheer her up, although he didn't know what he could do he was very upset himself.

What is Dread King's plan, how will the kingdoms be effected by the sudden news of a new threat, where are Waluigi and Wario, find out next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4: The Old Kingdom

Chapter 4: The old kingdom

Luigi walked through the halls of the now empty castle, or so it seemed but somewhere in the castle there was a terrible bawling noise, Luigi peered into the throne room, the noise was increasing as he entered, his master sat upon the throne, but his head rested back against the throne as he slept without a sound.

Luigi slowly move through and entered the room where the crying was heard, he instantly saw who it was, Bowser Jr. was thrashing widely around, his wailing was increasing as his pai increased, Luigi stepped closer, he said," What happened to you?" Bowser Jr. looked up startled by Luigi, he crossed his arms best he could and said," Nothin… Nothing I'm fin-"

He slammed his head back in pain, Luigi not knowing what to do says," I'll sneak you some medicine from the Mushroom Kingdom, I'll bring back a few mushrooms and other materials!" Luigi felt a blue light wrap around him as he focuses on his destination, he said in his head," Mushroom kingdom, four floors down, Store room B!"

He disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke, his gaze met a large door with a large mushroom carved on it, charging up his fist he crashed through the door, suddenly a loud blaring noise came from a light above, he rushed in and snatched up supplies, he grabbed two barrels of supplies and teleported with them as guards and the store people came to check.

Smiling to himself about how easy it was to get there and back, he hardly noticed the being watching from the door, he picked up a mushroom and a strange liquid and mashed them together, making sure the blend was neatly correct he slipped it into a vile and handed it to Bowser Jr. He took it and examined it, after a few seconds he gulped one last time and drank it down.

At first he was still thrashing but he soon laid back down and was out, even though the pain stopped he was exhausted from being up for a long time," Hmm, you saved him without even really expecting anything from it…." Luigi froze as he slowly turned to meet the gaze of his master, quickly on the ground he began to ask forgiveness.

He heard a low chuckle and then was picked up off the ground and stood up again, his master said," No need to apologize, I was respecting you for it, I also believe in a similar treatment of others, that is the reason I attacked the Mushroom Kingdom, to show them the pain they had caused this kingdom, and it seems you brought more than a mere handful, I'm guessing that means the plan went ahead of schedule before I even told you…."

Luigi tilted his head confused and asked," what do you mean next step?" His master knelt down and said," To gain the trust of the people of course, we need the support of followers if we are to restore the kingdom to it's former glory, surely the people we save will be grateful and follow me in my quest to reunite the kingdom and bring back the days of peace…." His master began to trail off, Luigi used the time to think himself.

Dread King thought," So now what do we do, we have the medicine but we need someone trustworthy to pass it around and make sure that everyone who is sick and needs the food gets it…." He looked down at Luigi, he said," Luigi, I have a request, I want you and Bowser's son to distribute this medicine to the people, afterwards deliver food and mushrooms to the hungry, we are going to fix this land…."

Luigi nods his head and says," Right away master, I will wake Bowser Jr. or just Junior and will talk through it!" Dread King nodded his head, he slowly walked back to his throne and sat, pulling out a small old book he began to write in it, after about half an hour he was once again asleep on the throne, when Junior awoke.

Luigi was standing there and Junior was quick on his feet, but remember the event that transpired just recently he asked," So why did you help me?" Luigi smiled and said," I can't help it, even though I'm not real good at fighting I sure can heal people, my master says that I need your help to distribute this medicine to the people who are sick and the food to those who are hungry, I would ask since this is also your kingdom if you could aid me?"

Junior scratched his nose, with a snort he said," Well I will be future king at some point and I want these people to remember me for something good, lets get going I'll take South side, you take North got it?" Luigi nodded and handed him half of the medicine and food, they both took off outside towards the town, Luigi offered the medicine.

Some people would say no, but after seeing how it affected there neighbors would come back and ask for some, after what seemed like hours Luigi returned to the castle, shortly after followed by Junior, he held a thumb up and said," food and medicine all respectfully passed out, what now Green, did your master say what next?"

" You boy, your different from your father, you just want to be respected, come here and kneel to me, if you grant your service to me I shall grant you power and get you your respect, please come forward…." Junior approached slowly, a bit scared by the man's voice he stumbled to the ground and knelt down, he said," Please make me more strong and gain respect, It is all I've ever wanted."

Dread King placed a hand on Junior, a sudden rush of energy shocked through him, when he awoke he didn't notice anything different, he shouts," Hey what gives I pledged my allegiance, why didn't I get anything cool!" Dread King held up his hand to silence him, he responds," Young Koopa you have a new power, come feel the energy inside of you, I have blessed you with lightning, but when you activate it there is a slight effect which I belive will be to yours and everyone's liking…"

Junior closed his eyes as Luigi watched in anticipation, Junior could feel an inner strength within himself he never had, his eyes turned white and blue, suddenly his feet could no longer touch the ground, he looked down and his mouth dropped open, his lower have was all thunder storms and lighting surging around in a vortex like spiral.

Junior looked up at the being, he said," You see what you can do now, you can control lighting, that vortex under you will die out and turn back to normal if you run out of energy, so how do you like your new found gift….." Junior grew a wide smile, he said happily," So are you sure this will get me respect because it is awesome!"

He simply nods the question, he turns towards Luigi who had a sad expression, he asked," Is something bothering you follower Luigi…." Luigi shrugged and said," well my thing wasn't very special I don't even know what I got for freeing you or helping you…." He chuckled again, Luigi amused him, he said," Now why would you be upset, if I were anybody else I would marvel at your gift, I gave you a copy of my armor, nothing and I mean nothing has come close to breaking it, you are coated in it whenever you want to be, so my followers you know what to do next, head to the Mushroom kingdom and enter the cult that has sought to find me, tell them all to come here there day has come The Old Kingdom will be realized…."

Both of his followers nodded and teleported away, turning he walked over and picked up the old book on the stand he created, he opened it up, he read it to himself:

Day 430:

_All the men are restless, I can see it in there eyes but none of them want to disappoint me, after all they have done it would seem hard to do so. The first commander approached me he had his weapon drawn, this didn't look good, he said firmly," Sir, I am trying to speak for the rest of us when we say you are treating us to badly, we haven't had a break in two months and were sick of it, we say-" I quickly interrupted him by placing my hand infront of him to stop him, I clearly spoke and said," __I have asked you all, time and again if you need a break, if you can't say yes to me then how do I know you want a break, it is your job commander to make sure this comes out and I know what my men need, it sounds to me that you are the reason my men are starving, I want you to remove your head piece as of now and get the hell out of my sight, I am appointing Deltris in charge of the group__!" His anger flared as I demanded he stand down from position, he shouted angrily towards me, trying to sound bad ass," You can't take me away, I am what makes this team who they are, without me they would all die, and I sure as hell am not going to be replaced by some hot headed girl who don't know shit about nothing!" Without him even realizing it my sword was right against his neck before he could even think of moving, I repeated," __Get the hell out of my sight, say another word about my daughter and I'll slice your throat wide open so all your men can watch you die__!" At that moment I could sence any hint of power against me in the situation had dropped dead within him, because he booked it out of the camp and was gone, turning my head I looked over to the young woman standing there, I told her," __Congratulations Deltris, you are now hereby the new commander, make me proud and get these men and woman a break__." She quickly bowed to me and said," Sure thing dad I will make you proud!" I nodded my head and entered my own tent, sitting in my chair I slowly dozed off, it was an interesting day to say the least_…"

Luigi looked over at his new partner, they nodded and knocked on the door, a few footsteps came over and the door open, at the sight of Luigi one of the men screamed," Sir the chosen on is back!" Junior looked at Luigi with a confusion, Luigi just shrugged, the elder appeared he said," My dear friend why have you returned?"

Luigi cleared his throat and said," Dearest followers, I call upon you to come forth to the castle which was formally Bowsers, there I will dispose upon you your mission and the goal of this cult, most of you know but I shall explain it all so come quickly time is of the essence…." The elder's jaw dropped, waving his head back and forth he took out a small dusty tool, putting his lips to it hem blowing into it a sound traveled through the city.

He told Luigi," This is the calling flute every member knows to gather here when it is blown, hurry back to your master tell him that his followers shall arrive quickly and by the numbers!" Luigi and Junior nod there heads and in another flash of blue light are gone leaving the old man to explaination for why he had called his men.

Luigi appeared with Junior to find that Dread King was on the floor asleep, Luigi quickly shook him and he slowly rose to his feet, turning he asked," So how did it go, are they coming or not….." Luigi held his thumb up and said," Yes they are coming he had to gather his men before coming he said they would be here as soon as possible."

A loud echoing laugh escaped his throat as he said," Excellent, the plan is coming together, all of my followers shall gather and together we will redo all that has gone wrong with this world, destroying anyone who stands in our way, the Old Kingdom must stay alive it is the reason for my existence and the reason why I have chosen you two to be my personal attendents, who will journey with me everywhere I ask, so wait out and rest for the day will come quickly, I know from experience…."

Dread King sat down on his throne and waited for his men to leave, he cracked open his journal and began to write again, after some time his head dropped slowly as he went to sleep, the book dropping to the floor and sliding underneath the throne, he moved slighty but he remained asleep, his two followers were fat asleep in two rooms across from eachother, the whole kingdom was silent.


End file.
